


Battle High

by jackravenrobyn



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Insomnia, M/M, World War III
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-23
Updated: 2012-07-23
Packaged: 2020-09-23 17:43:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 19
Words: 16,165
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20344126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jackravenrobyn/pseuds/jackravenrobyn
Summary: Battle high. A prestigous academy dedicated to the art of combat. Who knew it would ever be more than a school to me? Zukka. AU





	1. Chapter 1

Summer is over. Which unfortunately means we have to go back to school. Due to the time of night, I arrive at the mansion hidden in the middle of a forest in northern Italy much earlier than everyone else, so I take my stuff up to my room to unpack. For as long as I have been here, there have been few new pupils and due to the close friendships made, a dormitory reshuffle has never been necessary. It is eerily quiet in the school, but despite the almost derelict feel of the building, I definitely feel home. The quiet is nice after having to put up with my sisters constant nagging all summer. If this wasn’t an all-boys school, I’m almost certain she would have followed me here just to annoy me more. That’s just how she is; she lives to make my life unbearable.

At the sounds of the first engine cautiously manoeuvring the dirt track that leads to the school, I cross the room to kneel on a bed and peer out the first floor window at the new arrivals. I’m not watching them, not really, I’m searching for people. One of my room-mates, Aang, is easily distinguishable in the bustling crowds below.

He lives in a nearby monastery and the monks there make him shave his head (something about religious purposes) but he lets it grow during term time because he either likes it better that way or cannot be bothered with the upkeep required. But his baldness isn’t the thing that makes him stand out most; the large arrow tattoo on his head is his most easily distinguishable feature. The one on his head goes down his back, with other arrows breaking off to twirl around each of his limbs. Apparently he had them when the monks found him abandoned on their doorstep. Nobody knows how he got them or where he came from, but that doesn’t bother him in the slightest.0

As if feeling my gaze, he looks up at me and smiles. He makes his way through the crowds and – within moments – is entering the room. He’s the fastest person in a school for people with special talents in the fighting area, just like I’m the most flexible. “How many times do I have to tell you, Sokka? Get off of my bed!” He exclaims with a laugh, attempting to wrestle me from his bed. For such a little guy, he sure packs a punch.

“Hey! I need to perv up the guys, you know that!” We both know that’s not what I had been doing, but he plays along with it. I’m not entirely sure if I should be insulted or not that he didn’t deny my ‘perving’. He probably thinks I’m capable of it. He slips out of the room, shaking his head sadly at me. I keep looking out of the window watching, waiting long after everyone has gone inside and the courtyard is eerily empty.

Aang puts a hand on my shoulder, jolting me out of my gormless staring. “Dinners ready.” I don’t move, or even acknowledge him. “I know how much you miss him – even I do – but it doesn’t look like he’s coming today. You know Zuko; he’ll turn up eventually.” I resign myself and let the shorter boy lead me to the main hall for the welcome back speech, dinner and our timetables for the year. Zuko was always unreliable getting back for the start of terms. Hell, one year he was two weeks late when he arrived, sauntering into gym as though he had been there all along. He never gave explanation for his tardiness, and it was frustrating, to say the least.

“Aw, man! __Triple__ martial arts on Thursdays? You have got to be kidding me!” I throw myself onto my bed and give a cry of despair. “At least we’re in the same classes again.” Aang chirps happily. In this school, you are put into classes according to your ability, not your age. If Aang and I are in the same classes again, that means Zuko is most likely to be with us too. Between the three of us, we have three separate traditional school years, what with Aang being 14, Zuko 16, and me 15. Our age doesn’t matter; we’re in the top class and have been since we got here. It isn’t a surprise to find we are together again, but more of a relief now that it has finally been confirmed.

A teacher can be heard yelling in the corridor outside that it is lights out time. “I’m going to hit the hay. You staying up again?” I nod. Over the past few years – the ones that I’ve been here – I can only sleep when I become exhausted for some strange reason. It usually means that I only get a handful of hours of sleep a night. It doesn’t have any detrimental effect on my life whatsoever, which is what the over-cautious Aang tolerates me ‘odd behaviour’. I take the book resting on my bedside shelf and begin to read. Now, don’t get me wrong – I like action and fighting, but there’s only so much of that kind of thing a guy can take. There is only so much manliness one can cram into a lifestyle.

I mostly read romance novels. Well, romance is a rather loose term, it’s more like … a gay porn novel? Yes, that sounds right. Only I keep them hidden at the back of my closet because I’d never hear the end of it if anyone found out. I make a nest out of bedding for myself and slowly chew on my left thumbnail – a bad habit I can’t seem to kick - as I take it in.

_ _“You know what I want to hear…” Alex purred, completely enjoying his authority over the captive boy. The green eyes of the native met his own amber ones, and within them he could see that he had won. The boy was completely and utterly broken. “Please…” He whined, averting his eyes and rattling his restraints in an enticing manner. “Please what?” The officer teasingly slid his hand down his trousers and began pleasuring himself. The native, he noticed, was beet red all over and erect as anything. “Fuck me.” Alex looked at him expectantly, waiting for more. “Hard.” The native added. This seemed to be what the officer was waiting for because he strode across the room and…_ _

_ _

_ _

The door opened with a barely audible click, light gushing in from the corridor outside and a familiar muscular silhouette slunk into the room. It crossed to the only free bed and dropped his bags at the foot of the bed with a couple of dull thuds.

“I should have known you’d be up.” Zuko murmured quietly without turning to look at me. “You know me, watching you and Aang sleep turns me on.” Just like Aang earlier, he knows I’m bluffing. However, he’s silent, not agreeing or disagreeing and only speaks once he’s stripped down to his boxers and is in bed.

“What’re you reading that’s so interesting?” I sigh, turning off the lamp. “Go to bed, Zu, it’ll be a long day tomorrow – first ones back always are.” Within minutes his breathing has evened out to sleep-mode, so I turn the light back on and continue to read.


	2. Chapter 2

Perfect timing! As I finished the book – it had a rather tragic and heartbreaking ending –Aangs alarm sounded throughout the room. I slept through the plane journey to get to school, don’t judge! Before breakfast, drill is held and – although it helps to prepare you for the day ahead – it is not mandatory. Therefore Aang is the only one from our dorm to attend, while Zuko and I do something with the little free time we have. In Zuko’s case, try to sleep off the jet lag…or just sleep in general.

I watch with mild humour as Aang walks into the door on his way to the bathroom in an almost trance-like state. In his sleep addled state, he doesn’t bother closing the door, so I can see him trip and fall down the steps into the pit where the showers are. Aang and cognitive functions do not mix first thing in the morning. Walking into and falling over inanimate objects is an entertaining daily occurrence.

I couldn’t help but laugh when he yelled “I’m up already!” Into the tiled floor. I regretted it instantly when I heard a groan coming from the corner by the fireplace. Zuko was absolute__ hell__ in the morning, and he had gotten back pretty late last night, too. He didn't need to be woken abruptly to be in a foul mood for the rest of the morning. He hauled himself to his feet; stretching and making his joints pop.

“Jeez, didn’t you sleep at all last night Sokka?” He moved to stand in front of my bed, giving me a quizzical look. Apparently he’s seemingly oblivious to the fact that he is only wearing a pair of deep red boxers. Either that or he doesn’t care. Probably the latter, Zuko has never been particularly body shy.

He doesn’t seem to require an answer and yells over his shoulder “Hurry up, Aang, or you’ll be late!” We both like to tease him as much as possible – he still has over an hour to spare until drill begins. He rushes out of the bathroom, his clothes on backwards and dashes single-mindedly out of the room without registering the fact that Zuko had turned up in the night.

“At last. Damn monk takes too long, I swear.” Zuko complains. Aang had been in there for five minutes at the most. He fetches clothes from one of the bags at the foot of his bed and enters the previously occupied steam-filled room. There are three shower heads in the pit, but we have an unspoken agreement not to go in when someone else is in there. That way, we avoid uncomfortable moments as much as we physically can. Quite frankly, I’m glad neither one of them have seen my junk.

I wait for the sound of the water sputter, and then the hiss as it is turned fully on before slipping my book into the back of my closet and locking the door shut. I fling the key on its chain under my pillow without looking and set off down the corridor to the library. I would wear it around my neck, but during our many battle-related classes it could become a serious disadvantage to me. That is why I keep it hidden in my genius and unsuspecting hiding place of under my pillow.

Once seated at a computer away from everyone else, I log in and bring up the website I buy my books from. Then I stuck my pen drive into the computer and used the long list of books I wanted to buy to put the top four into my basket. I changed the postage address from home to the school and bought them, deleting the titles from my list. I logged off and took myself and my pen drive back to my room. I had already ordered a couple yesterday before I left, so I should be getting them when post is handed out during lunch time.

I froze when I saw my bed. Sure it was made – if not a little sloppily from where I had been sitting on it all night – but the pillow was laying on the floor next to my bed, leaving the key on full display. I grabbed it on my way past and hurriedly opened the wardrobe. I slumped in relief to find that it still looked the same as the way I had left it – clothes piled lazily on the shelves all screwed up. Really, what’s wrong with wrinkles?

I heaved a sigh of relief – I must have left it like that when I wasn’t paying attention earlier. I pull the pen drive out of the pocket of my trackie bottoms and put it on the middle shelf. I carefully lock it back up and replace the key – making sure this time that it is hidden.

I glance at Aangs alarm and sprint down to the main hall. God damn, is that the time already? I arrive out of breath but thankfully not late.


	3. Chapter 3

As soon as breakfast is over Zuko, Aang and I head towards the gym room. Zuko is staying as far away from Aang as he can ever since the bald boy realized he was back. It was just unfortunate that it was in the middle of the main hall. I could hear Aangs joyous squeals and Zukos yells from halfway down the stairs, which is saying something. It turned out Aang – quite literally – threw himself at Zuko and earned himself a black eye for it.

We enter the gym room and lurk uncertainly in the doorway. Everything is eerily silent, with shadows from the equipment falling everywhere and obscuring things a little. Gym may be my best class (most flexible person, remember?) but the room itself creeps me out, and I’m not the only one who thinks that.

“Sokka! Go find her!” Zuko nudges me none too gently in the ribs.

“Me? Why me?!” In truth Miss Shade scares me a lot, even though I’m her favourite.

Most of the boys here are crushing on her, but I think it’s just creepy the way she tries to come onto me. “Because you’re her favourite!” I give in, but only because the remaining members of the class have arrived.

I walk silently through the towering equipment, with everyone else following at a distance. Why are they scared if they’re all crushing on her? (Not Zuko or Aang, I asked) Because Miss Shade has a nasty tendency of tricking you into not paying attention, then she strikes. I realize almost too late what she’s got planned.

She hides behind one of the baseball ejector machines, only this one is on, unlike the rest. I hear the soft thunk as one is violently spat out, followed quickly by another. The machine is pointed directly at me and I find myself reacting instantly.

I bend over backwards placing my hands flat on the floor, my body forming an arch. I feel the air disturbance as the first passes over me. I flip my legs up and over – like a handstand in reverse – allowing the second baseball to sail over my back before straightening up.

I hear rather than see a third being fire, and jump as high as I can doing the splits in mid-air. I hear clapping when I touch down again, and see Miss Shade emerging from behind the machine. I mock bow to her and turn when I hear an agonized moan.

One of the boys I don’t know so well is clutching his stomach on the floor. Miss Shade stopped next to me and – placing her hands on her hips – chided “Well, you should have been faster, shouldn’t you?” Turning to his friend, she barked, making him jump “You! Take him to the infirmary!” She doesn’t know anyone else’s names, even though we’ve had her for a couple of years now.

I glance at the guys. Aangs looking worriedly at the boy and Zukos standing there with his mouth hanging open, looking completely awestruck. I have no idea why, he’s seen a better display of my prowess before. I walk up to him, “Jealous?” I ask, reaching out to touch the scar over his left eye.

I know he doesn’t like people looking at it, let alone touching it, but I like it. Feeling the ridged skin beneath my fingertips is compulsively addictive, which is rather strange now I think about it. Zuko regains composure over his momentary shock and knocks my hand away.

I do like doing it, but it’s not very often; whenever he sees me trying he backs off or stops me. I give him a sad look and turned back to Miss Shade.

“Right. As a fun first lesson back, we will play a form of dodge ball. On person runs and dodges, while the others throw baseballs at him. Any volunteers?”

Silence. She looks between Aang and Zuko, probably because she wants me throwing so she can try to jump me. Creepy.

“You. And the upper floor is out of bounds for this exercise.” Aang groans and – dodging a particularly good shot from Zuko – runs off into the maze of equipment. Zuko and I give chase, half a dozen balls cradled in each of our arms.

“Cover me.”

He nods and continues the chase while I make my way to the stairs and sneak up to the upper floor to wait out the lesson without being harassed.


	4. Chapter 4

Battle strategy, our next lesson, was boring; studying old war plans, pointing out mistakes and coming up with better tactics.

Swordplay, which we had after break, was the complete opposite of it. There was a not pinned to the door of the classroom from Miss Merk, the teacher. It was up high, since she’s quite tall, so I jump up in an attempt to read it.

I give up pretty quickly and jerk my thumb at it to Zuko, letting him use his superior height to read it to us.

“Welcome back… safety instructions…equipment maintenance…ahah! Here it is; for the first few weeks we will be practicing on alternate terrains…blah blah blah…let yourselves in, get changed and collect your equipment, meet me at the bridge that crosses the stream as soon as you are ready.”

Were silent for a moment, not really wanting to go in by ourselves. I look at Aang, then Zuko.

“I call Katana!” I yell, running into the classroom and heading for the adjourning room that houses the weapons and safety attire.

Reacting fast, Aang chases after me and quickly manages to overtake me. “I call Rapier!”

Aang and I burst into fits of giggles when Zuko roars; “Like hell you do!” and takes pursuit.

Once in the equipment room, we automatically try to barricade to door, but even with both of our combined strengths, Zuko manages to open the door without much of a struggle – for him.

He’s the strongest in the school, though you wouldn’t know just by looking at him. Sure, he has muscles – more than me and Aang – but he doesn’t look like a body builder or anything.

We’re changed and kitted out by the time the other members of the class enter, chattering an generally making themselves annoying, so we head out down the dirt track that connects the school to the outside world.

Once everyone is at the bridge, Miss Merk leads us along the stream and past the artificial lake where we did alternate terrain training last year. We don’t know this area so well, as crossing the stream without a teacher is forbidden.

The woodland around us grows steadily denser and darker. Miss Merk stops in the middle of a slight clearing.

“What do you see?” She’s big on being observant. Everyone looks around in confusion, not entirely sure what to think.

“Trees?”

“Leaves?”

“Mud?”

She quietly shakes her head to each suggestion. “Look closer.”

Out of the corner of my eye I see a rope ladder and follow it up to the treetops.

“Tree houses.” Jet, from the dorm next to ours says in a bored voice.

Now that I know what it is I’m supposed to be seeing, I can make out a warren of tree houses, bridges and ropes in the darkened canopy above.

She smiles at Jet, who ignores her in favour of lighting a cigarette, taking a long drag and slowly releasing the smoke through his nostrils

She organises us into teams at random, whilst relaying instructions at the same time. “Each team has a flag to protect; the objective is to retrieve the opposing teams’ flag in order to win. I recommend that you remove your safety equipment, since it is quite cramped up there, but __please__ don’t hurt each other too much! You may begin.”

I was with the blue team and assigned to be one of the would be retrievers of the flag. I set off down the left hand bridge that led off from our flag base, and turned in time to see the two remaining people roll up the ladders and set to work with cutting down the bridges from their end. There was no __way __we were going to lose this.

I found myself in the middle of a rope bridge, with Zuko at the other end, proudly wearing his red sash as a bandanna. Though I hate to admit it, it blended almost perfectly with his scar to make him look … scary. He smirked in realization and swung his dual Dao down, the razor sharp blades slicing easily through the ropes holding up the bridge.

But I was already one step ahead of him, jumping off and somersaulting to the ground. He scowled at me when I folded my arm – sword and all – against my stomach in a mock bow. Ah, how I love winning against Zuko, even if it means I get the cold shoulder for it later.

I stand undetected below the reds tree house – the one that I have deducted must hold the flag that I must retrieve in order to win. At least, I think it is, because there are two people guarding it. One of them Is Jet, who is currently sleeping against the outside wall and the other is parading around on the walkway – supposedly keeping watch, I guess.

I throw my makeshift grappling hook over the railing above and give the rope an experimental tug to make sure it’s secure. Within moments I have shimmied up the rope and am creeping over Jets outstretched legs. I slip into the shelter and quickly tie the over large flag around my waist.

I climb onto the rail and look down. I __really__ hate heights. “Give it back and I won’t hurt you.” Jet says, almost lazily.

I turn carefully to maintain my balance and look at him. His mouth is strangely bereft without a cigarette, but – somewhat more menacing – is the broadsword he holds in both hands above his head.

“Now, I would really love to chat but-“I jump and backwards somersault to the ground “-I have better things to do.” He shrugs and pulls a cigarette from behind his ear, concentrating on lighting it whilst I run back to the clearing where we started.

When I arrive there, Miss Merk is sleeping on a bed of leaves (I guess she made it while we were gone) with a log as a pillow. Trust me, it’s a strange sight. I clear my throat, hoping it will wake her up. After a moment I roll my eyes and gently shake her awake.

She gives me a sinister grin and sharply blows on her whistle three times. The students rush into the clearing, eager to see which team won.

“Sokka, you did it!” Aang yells, jumping onto me piggyback style. Taking his lead, I am soon swamped by sweaty, shrieking teens. Ew.


	5. Chapter 5

Lunch time took forever to roll around, but when it did, everyone was relieved. I ate, collected my parcel of books and slunk out of the main hall to take a – much needed – shower. I pause at the front of the main staircase to look down the corridor at the shower room. Steam is billowing out of the open door, which means I will have to go back to my room to shower.

Normally, I wouldn’t mind but my sister decided to do … experimentation … over the holidays. She’s a healer of sorts and wanted to practice using different skin numbing methods, deciding to pierce one of my ears – and also somewhere far worse.

I have since taken out the one in my ear and let the hole close up, but I didn’t really want to take the other one out – couldn’t take it out without risking injury – though I must say, I’m regretting it now.

I walk out of the dorm showers in only a pair of navy boxers because I put my clothes down the laundry chute. I wince and mentally face palm when I see Zuko lying on his bed, watching me intently as I get clothes out of my__ real__ drawers. There is an awkward silence while I pull on a pair of baggy tracksuit bottoms, only these are a different colour to the ones I had on earlier.

Out of nowhere Zuko shoves me up against the wall, pinning me there. I flush with discomfort and embarrassment when I see Zuko looking down my tan body. From where I am, the piercing stands out a mile, but I’m not sure about from where__ he__ is.

“Jesus Christ, Sokka! You got a … a nipple piercing?!”

He doesn’t yell it, not quite, but the way he said it caused my flush to deepen and made me hang my head in embarrassment.

“Could…could you maybe take it out for me? I’ve wanted to for a long time; only my hands shake too much…” I trail off, perfectly aware of his burning gaze just…looking at it.

“Can I touch it?”

I glance up at his golden eyes, before nodding and quickly looking away. I bite my lip when I feel the heat brush up against my body, hoping that he would take it out gently. I watched out of the corner of my eye as he tentatively touched the plain silver bar with his fingertips, not once making contact with my skin.

“Are you sure? If I do, it might get infected. It looks better on, anyway.” Is that a compliment? From Zuko?!

“I…” He’s still looking at it, as though transfixed and it’s kind of creeping me out. “Fine! Have it your way!”

It’s an overreaction, yes, but it’s__ really__ creeping me out the way he keeps looking at it. I pull on a baggy tank top and storm out of the room, slamming the door as I left.

The rest of the day, I stayed away from the pervert as much as I could; making sure I was in a different group in alternative weaponry and swordplay, pairing with Aang for __triple martial arts__, as well as __actually going__ to meditation before dinner (also not mandatory, but mostly skipped by Zuko and I anyway).

During dinner, he kept staring at my chest, as though willing for my shirt to disappear. Even Aang could feel the tension and could tell that something was wrong. He kept asking if everything was alright, with meaningful glances at the person he had not just asked. Each time – before Zuko even got the chance to answer – I answered that it was, and told him to stop asking. However it didn’t deter him in the slightest.

Aang just ‘happened’ to decide on taking a walk instead of going straight back to our dorm.

I took another shower once I got back (trust me, at this school you need __at least __two a day, if not more during breaks) and found Zuko waiting for me once I was done.

The tension in the air was so thick it could have been cut by a knife. I picked the unopened parcel of books up and pulled the one on top out once I had opened it.

“Why are you doing this? Why are you giving me the cold shoulder?” I look up, only to see his face exhibiting raw sadness.

“You’re not supposed to know.”

“Can…can we be friends again if I promise not to tell anyone?”

I think long and hard before finally nodding my assent. He says nothing while stripping down to his boxers, but soon says “Can I…look again?”

I was about to refuse point-blank, but an idea took root in my head.

“Only if you let me touch your scar.” He hesitates, but nods in agreement to the deal.

By the time Aang got back that night, Zuko was asleep and I was engrossed in a book. “Have you sorted things out?” I gave a non-committed grunt and almost missed the beaming grin he gave me.


	6. Chapter 6

The days passed similarly, only minus the arguments. That and I were occasionally jumped by Zuko when we were alone for a look at my piercing. And he says_ I’m_ the pervert?!

By the time Friday rolled around, I was pretty fed up with Zuko and his perverse attitude. I was also tired, and annoyed at what day it was.

My birthday had come around __again__. The only good thing about it is that today I am exempt from lessons. Not that anyone will notice that the ‘sarcasm guy’ is missing or anything.

I get up as usual; put on baggy trackie bottoms and a tank top, disappearing to the library to order more books once I was done. But I don’t show up for breakfast. Why? I’m not hungry and I’d much rather spend the day alone.

The first four lessons I spent running around the perimeter of the school grounds, pushing myself well over my usual physical limits. I need to be completely exhausted if I want to sleep tonight.

I confine my running to the specially created cross country tracks in the woods - ones that aren’t out of bounds – behind the school during lunch time. I’d rather not bump into anyone. Once I hear the distant chattering of my class gathering in the sparring arena, I head deeper into the woods.

I jump across the stream easily and the strange feeling of liberation makes my tired legs move with new-found energy. I skid to a halt on the banks of the artificial lake, sending gravel flying into the glass-like surface causing the serenity to be briefly shattered.

I know I’m not supposed to be here, but I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my time. I watch the miniature tempest subside and absent-mindedly tug off my tee and sweats, dropping them in an untidy heap next to me.

I take half a dozen steps back, only to run and jump into the lake. It gets deep pretty quickly, since it was built for training and usually has giant buoys or small ships sitting on its surface.

I swim laps but soon grow bored, so I jump off the tyre swing or climb the tree that overhangs it as high as I can and dive into the water. I think I may have invented a couple of new dives, so I set about perfecting them.

I was just about to try inventing a sixth new dive, standing on a high up branch and working it through in my head, when I was startled by three sharp blows on a whistle.

I jumped at the sound, one of my feet slipping off the branch as I landed. I let out an unmanly shriek as the rest of my body followed it off the branch. I had barely managed to twist myself into something resembling a dive when I plunged deep into the water. I didn’t have time to take a breath before I went under, so my lungs were screaming for air almost immediately.

I kicked as hard as I could, but I couldn’t tell which way was__ up__ any more – the water was so dark. I was about to give up hope when my head finally broke the surface. I gasped for air, trying to return my breathing to normal.

“Bitch.” I scowl in the general direction of the whistle-blowing had come from. I would have done so for longer, had I not been interrupted by a rustling bush somewhere off to my left.

I slowed the pace I was treading water at, so that only my head remained above the water.

“Who’s there?”

I was painfully aware of the fact that my hair had come free from where it had been tied up, and that most of it was sticking limply to my head. Something that I completely forgot to do over the holidays. __Not__ a good look.

Everything was silent. After a few moments – when my heart wasn’t about to burst out of my chest – I dismissed it as an animal, and carried on with my dives.

I reasoned it was about five-ish by the time I returned to my room. I made a beeline straight for the showers and ditched my damp clothes in the laundry chute. Once done, I wiped the condensation off of the mirror and set about retying my hair.

On my pillow was a neatly wrapped package. It wasn’t birthday paper, at least that’s something. I picked it up and looked all over it. It was plain brown paper – flawless save for my name written in a fancy script on the front. I worked my fingers under the flaps and pulled. God, it felt so wrong ruining something so perfect.

But once it__ was__ unwrapped, I was glad I did. Inside was a book that I had wanted for absolutely__ ages__ but had long ago given up looking for somewhere that stocked it.

As much as I loathe admitting it, I squealed with delight and span in circles in the middle of the room whilst clutching the book to my chest. Manly, I know.

Once dizzy, I fell to the nearest bed and began to read.

_ _“Alec!” The dynamic man with tiger striped hair yelled as soon as the call was connected. There was a mumbled reply as Alec struggled to fully wake up. “Get your arse out here this instant! If you don’t, I swear I’ll show your mum certain pictures…” Alec blanched at the mere thought._ _

_ _“Quinn, no! Please don’t! I…I’m just coming, okay?”_ _

My eyelids began to droop, but I still carried on reading. The next thing I knew, the still open book was pulled off my face. I was picked up bridal style ad deposited on my own bed. My sleep-clouded mind wouldn’t let go of whoever it was and ordered my body to feebly pull the unresisting person down next to me.


	7. Chapter 7

It was warm, very warm, whatever it was I was laying on – and extremely comfortable too. It was also moving ever so slightly; up, down, up, down. The movement was so relaxing, it was no wonder I had fallen asleep here.

But…where__ is__ here? I can’t think of anything it could be, and I __really __don’t want to wake up properly – it’s much too comfy for that. I shift a little, since my left arm has gone numb from sleeping on it.

The thing I’m laying on moaned quietly and mumbled something unintelligible. My eyes fly open and I scramble into a sitting position. Golden eyes were staring into my own cerulean ones.

I jump up, run across the room and bolted the bathroom door behind me. I slump against the door and slide down until I’m sitting on the cold floor. Hiding in the bathroom – very manly. I hug my knees to my chest and struggle to control both my ragged breathing and erratic heartbeat.

Why was Zuko in my bed in only an old pair of sweats?! The pervert probably drugged my food or something…my stomach makes a particularly loud growl. Ah yes, I didn’t eat at all yesterday.

Believe me, I’m __starving__, and all that exercise hardly helped. However, it’s not like I can go and eat, or want to with Zuko in the next room, waiting for me to come out so he can pounce…karma just hates me.

BANG! BANG! BANG! “Sokka, please! I need to get ready for drill!”

I stay silent, my body jerking as the door behind me rattles in time with Aangs pounding fist. Eventually the pounding stops and – if I strain my ears – I can hear the fain murmurs of a hushed conversation.

BANG! Only this time it’s not the door being hit. It’s the other one…being slammed. I gulp. What if it’s __Aang __who left? Zuko could easily break down the door if he wanted to. Oh man, why me?!

-XOX-

“You say he keeps asking to see ‘it’, what do you mean exactly?”

It was Aang that stayed behind, and he’s getting me to tell him what’s wrong so he can at least try to fix it. Secretly I think he’s some kind of emotional therapist or something equally crazy.

I screw my eyes up, bracing myself for his reaction. “Katara…she, uhm, was kind of practicing piercings and…yeah.” I hope he gets what I’m trying to say without me having to spell it out for him.

“Okay, but where?” I can already imagine the frown on his face.

“Well, I had one in my left ear but I let it close up. The other is…oh my god! It’s so embarrassing, do I have to tell you?!” I don’t wait for an answer and add after a brief pause, “It’s sort of…in the upper chest area.”

I can almost hear the cogs whir as he makes the connection. “Oh my god,” he breathes quietly “are you serious?” I just hope he’s reached the right conclusion.

“Yeah, but that’s not all.”

“You woke up to find Zuko a little closer than expected?”

Wait, how does he know? “Yeah. I mean, I didn’t exactly tell him to! It was__ so__ uncalled for!”

“You mean you don’t remember? You…kind of…fell asleep on my bed. I got him to move you – for obvious reasons – only…you sort of…dragged him into bed with you? You wouldn’t let go of him.”

I groan and bang the back of my head on the door repeatedly. Could it get any worse?!

I open the door. “Thanks A-oh my god! What’re__ you__ doing here?!”

It just got worse,__ much__ worse.

“-why the fuck would you__ let __me pull you down? I mean it’s not like-“

He just sits there and takes it, no objections or anything. When I was done, the room seemed eerily quiet. I glared at Zuko, but buckled under his scrutiny and had to look away. The pregnant pause seemed to stretch on forever, but in truth it can’t have been more than a couple of minutes.

There was movement, but I only looked up when Zuko spoke halfway through the door. “I’m sorry.”

It’s very…out of character for him to apologize, even more so for him to sound nervous and uncertain. I leave it a minute and head down to breakfast.


	8. Chapter 8

Generally swordplay is good, unless it’s like today and you have to defend and disarm a sword-wielding opponent – when you have no weapons of your own. No wonder this is when most of the injuries occur. What makes it even more difficult is that today we are on giant ropes criss-crossed to make something resembling a giant net in the canopies of the trees. This is supposed to be our field of arena. Damn alternate terrains.

There are other nets around me, each with a student precariously balanced on it. I seriously think that these things might go on forever, or at least as far as the forest goes.

I take a quick glance downward only to see the forest floor __far below__. I wait, but the wave of nausea doesn’t flood over me. I jump experimentally, hurting my bare feet on the ropes as they struggle to keep hold.

I catch Aangs eye from one of the nets next to me. He seems to catch my question of __what the hell is going on? __and shrugs. From below a whistle is sharply blown three times. I stand in the exact centre of the net, making it harder to sneak up on me.

From my vantage point, I can see Jet sneaking up on Aang. He leaps, careful not to hit Aang with his customary broadsword. Aang shrieks loudly and falls under Jets weight. He turns over, only to have the tip of the broadsword pressed into his throat.

“Think fast!”

Crap, I should have been paying more attention to my own battle.

I place my hands on cross-sections of rope and flip my body forwards, landing a firm kick on my attacker’s right hand. I spin in time to see a single Dao slice through a couple of ropes and plummet to the ground. It lands tip first, the hilt shaking from the force.

A roar of rage is let out, followed shortly by the Dao’s counterpart slashing at my neck. Well, where my neck had been before I had jumped back. I really __love__ my fast reactions sometimes. My body overrules my head and I place my left hand on the ropes to balance myself.

At the same time I swing my right leg in a clean arc, my foot connecting with the hand clasping the remaining Dao. I grin as I straighten up, watching it fly up before sinking and slicing a couple more ropes on its way down.

“Nice work Sokka! Move on to phase two!” Miss Merk calls from below.

Phase two?! I thought I only had to disarm?!

I look at my opponent, his chest heaving, probably trying to control his infamous temper. From here I can only see the damaged left side of his face; scarred skin and an eye that won’t open as much as its counterpart because of it. He turns his head so that I can fully see his face, and I almost wish he hadn’t. the intense anger in his eyes is like nothing I have ever seen before.

Sensing what he was about to do I move myself into a brace position, but nonetheless fall in the face of the unstoppable avalanche that hit me. It happened so fast, that the next thing I was aware of was my wrists pinned somewhere above my head and a set of lips crushing against mine.

I lay, stunned, for a long palpable moment. Then, my instincts kicked in. I bucked as hard as I could, and yanked free one of my hands from the flaxen grip. I manage to land a solid punch on the damaged side of Zukos face. He cried out in pain, the hand holding down my other wrist flying up to cradle the scar.

He sits back and I somehow manage to wriggle out from under him and take off across the net, leaping across the gap to the net where Aang and Jet are in close combat.

Once at the end of the nets, I jump across to a rope that hangs from a nearby tree. I slide down, burning my hands as I squeeze tighter to slow before I hit the ground. Once there, I run off as fast as I can towards the lake.

Once in sight of the lake, the fear that fuelled me dissipated, leaving me on my knees at the water’s edge.

“Fuck~!”

I somehow managed to throw my head so far back that the rest of me followed, leaving me lying in an incredibly awkward position. I heard him approach and stop a couple of feet away, just watching me.

I was struggling to control myself; elevated breathing and sobs threatening to escape, so after what he did I couldn’t even bring myself to even __attempt__ to speak. So I waited. I waited for him to make the first move. Why? Because I have absolutely no idea where I stand in all of this.

I waited and waited. He said nothing and eventually left. Only then did I allow the sobs of confusion to break free.

I don’t know what happened next. All I know is that I’ve just woken up in my bed, stripped down to only a pair of boxers.

“Good, you’re okay. The nurse said you wouldn’t wake up for a couple more days.”

I try to sit up, but my head throbs painfully. So fall back with a groan clutching it as if it would make it better. I wait for the pain to subside.

“What happened?”

Aang looked away and absent-mindedly traced his tattoos – a trait he does when he’s embarrassed. There’s a long silence and I am beginning to the he hasn’t heard when he answers.

“We don’t know.” How tragic. Oh well, no matter.

I fumble around on the drawers above me and check the time on my alarm. It reads 11:30 and in that moment, I know something is wrong. Curfew was an hour ago.

“Aang,” he looks up briefly, before going back to tracing his arrows, “where’s Zuko?”

When he next looks up, his eyes are all watery. “In quarantine.” Alone tear escapes from his eye and trails down his face. “They…they think he attacked you.”

Attack me? Why would he attack me? He wouldn’t, I know it! I’m on my feet in seconds and pulling on tracksuit bottoms when Aang reacts.

“Sokka, what’re you doing?”

Ignoring the blinding pain in my head, I cross the room to the door, not bothering to put a shirt on.

“Go to bed, Aang. I don’t know how long I’ll be.” I stalk from the room and head down to the infirmary.

“Zuko! Zu! Where are you?!” I yell as I run down deserted, pristine corridors. “Zu?! Zu!”

I’m panicking now; what if he’s already been kicked out? I turn down another corridor, only this one is different.

There are only about five doors, each with a whiteboard on it and a square of metal to peep through – like a prison.

I run to the first one and look in: nothing. The next one is empty too. The third – to my relief – had a nice view of a sleeping Zuko. Snap out of it Sokka! I get down so I’m at eye level with the keyhole and set to work picking it. Really, you’d think they would have more sense than to teach us how to pick locks.

The door creaked ominously as I opened it, but Zuko didn’t as much as twitch. I closed the door behind me as quietly as I could and knelt next to his sleeping form. He looks so quiet and serene just lying there.

Before I can stop myself, I quickly press my lips to his. If my actions hadn’t shocked me enough, my head being held in a vice-like grip and his lips coming alive completely outdid it. Zuko was kissing me, and I was kissing him back.

What felt like an eternity later we finally broke apart, gasping in great lungful’s of air. Some when along the line we had switched positions, which left me lying with Zuko kneeling over me. I struggled to catch my breath, but quickly realized how pointless it would be when Zuko decided to molest my nipple – piercing and all – with his incredibly skilful tongue.

Whilst that made me moan, it was apparently only a distraction of what he really wanted to get at. He moved his knee upwards, making me moan louder as he ground against my crotch with just the right amount of pressure.

When he retracted his knee I let out a needy whimper. Sure I had been about to mess myself, but it would’ve been __so__ worth it. So I lay there, watching Zuko openly stare at my erection with lust-clouded eyes.

I couldn’t help but notice that he seemed to have the same problem as me. I was just wondering what it would look like __without__ trousers in the way, when my own were pulled off – along with my boxers.

I quite literally screamed when his warm, sinful mouth took me in. I fisted my hands into his hair, completely loosing control of my own body. Within seconds I climaxed, screaming his name as waves of pleasure washed through me. The most erotic thing I had seen so far that night was him swallowing, everything.

Once down from my high, I struggled into a sitting position and feebly pushed Zuko onto his back.

“Let me return the favour…” He sat upright quickly

“About that,” I give him a look that says ‘what now?!’ “You, uhm. There’s no need.”

He flushes and looks away uncomfortably. I can see where this I s going, I think. “Are you trying to say you jazzed yourself?” If anything, the unblemished half of his face reddens even more.

A huge yawn rips through my body, which is odd considering I’ve slept for five days straight already. I let Zuko pull me down and within seconds I am asleep on his bare chest.

BANG! We jerk upright in unison, only to come face to face with matron – a stick thin old woman who looks like she could drop dead at any moment. She’s shooting us dirty glares, which makes me thankful that I remembered to pull on my sweats before I fell asleep.

There has to be something seriously wrong with me if I keep sleeping this much.

“Follow me.” She turns sharply and leaves the room. I catch Zukos eye and scramble up to follow her.

“After…partially…watching the CCTV footage from your isolation room, I have come to the conclusion that you did not attack Sokka. However, I must still send a full report to your fathers, detailing accusations and how the situation was resolved-“

“No,” I agree with Zuko. I don’t want dad and Katara to find out about ‘how it was resolved’; I’d rather tell them in my own time. “You can’t. Do you know what my father would do to this place if he found out? He’d destroy it! And he wouldn’t stop there; he’ll start rumours about…paedophilia and rape.”

I knew his dad was powerful, just not how much. But would he really do all that just for finding out Zuko may have stepped out of line? A little harsh, I think.

“It’s not like he’s inexperienced in that area or anything.” The head teacher looks absolutely terrified and – after swallowing several times – manages to say “Very well,” and waved us from the room.


	9. Chapter 9

“Zuko…?”

He hummed his acknowledgement, not slowing his pace. We were already late to lessons, having had to meet with the headmaster, missing the first two completely. It’s now halfway through martial arts, which explains why he’s hurrying: it’s his favourite.

“Were you being serious…about your dad, I mean?”

He stopped in the middle of the corridor and turned to look at me.

“I…yeah. He closed down all of the schools like this in my country.”

“But…how can one man be that powerful?”

I already knew Zuko wasn’t from nearby (and by nearby, I mean on the same continent), as did everyone else. It was obvious to everyone who looked at him that he had oriental origins (he lives in the far east – he won’t tell me which country exactly) and if they couldn’t tell from that, he often cursed – and talked in his sleep – in his native tongue.

He took a deep breath and looked me in the eyes.

“Promise you won’t breathe a word of it to anyone.”

I did so and waited to hear this ‘big secret’.

“My father…he’s the king of my country.”

I couldn’t help but notice that he spat the word ‘king’ out, as if it were dirty. He looked at me expectantly, waiting for a response. I arched an eyebrow and crossed my arms.

“Is that the best you can come up with to impress me?”

I almost thought my teasing had worked, but he decided to play me at my own game.

“Oh, you want me to impress you?”

He smirked and – before I could respond – he pushed me up against the wall and engaged my tongue in a battle for dominance. Like I said before, he is extremely skilled in that area. I barely stood a chance.

He pulled back, taking my hair tie and using it to fasten his own ragged locks out of his face.

Apparently we had both been too pre-occupied over the summer to cut is. It hung about my face, getting in the way and covering my eyes. I scowled at him and lunged for it, but he danced out of reach.

“Your hair looks better down.”

He pressed his lips chastely against mine and ran off towards the courtyard – with me in close pursuit.

I saw Zuko skid to a halt too late and careened into his solid back.

Luckily he had the manners to jolt so that I wouldn’t fall, but was instead effectively hugging him from behind. I coughed uncomfortably and immediately detached myself from him.

There was an eardrum-shattering scream and I was pushed back against Zuko as we were both crushed in a bone-breaking hug.

“You guys are okay! I was so worried when you left in the middle of the night!”

“Get off, you stupid monk!”

This was followed by a dull thump, which – although I couldn’t see – I assumed to be Zuko hitting Aang, since the arm around my waist had been removed.

By the end of the day, Zukos indifference had me thinking that what happened last night was just a very, very vivid dream.

“You coming?”

I shake my head. I don’t always eat, which irritates Aang to no end.

Once alone I slip into the bathroom and crank the shower temperature up to max. I slip under the spray and let out a silent moan of pleasure. For some reason hot showers help me clear my head.

I almost gasp at the shivers spreading outwards through my body, originating from my neck. Or – more precisely – where Zuko was nibbling. I should have been panicking, but for some reason I wasn’t.

“How can you stand the water so hot? I thought you were from a cold country…”

I jerked away from his wet body, severing all contact.

“Why Zu? Why are you doing this to me?”

He terminated the gap between us, pressing flush against me.

“'Cuz you’re sexy, and I fancy you.”

I shyly averted my eyes and decided to wait out the awkward silence that ensued. I blushed – for some reason – when I heard the shower-head next to mine sputter on. The absence of his body behind me was desolate, and I instantly decided I didn’t like it.

Before I could protest, however, a loud moan caused my blush to deepen insurmountably. I glanced over, only to see Zuko crumpled against the wall with a hand wrapped around himself.

His movements were mesmerising, occasionally accentuated with a loud moan. A crazy thought came over me and before I could talk myself out of it, I moved behind him, swatted his hand away and replaced it with my own.

He cried out loudly, his legs all but giving way and leaving him leaning heavily against both the wall and myself for support.

By the time he climaxed, I was almost completely supporting him, since he seemed to have lost all control over his body.

“Guys! I’m back! Where are you?”

Zuko’s in no position to think, much less speak, so I quickly disentangle myself and pull on my abandoned sweats.

“For god’s sake, Zuko! Turn around!” I don’t look back as I stumble from the bathroom, muttering “I’m blind! I can’t see!” for added effect.

Aang sidles up to me and guides me to my bed. “He did it on purpose?” Yes! Got away with it, undetected!

I hum a yes and look up at the door, which had just opened again.

“ZUKO!” I yell and Aang turns to look, only to look away immediately with a blush on his face.

“Put some clothes on!” He smirks and saunters over, making Aang not the only one blushing.

“Why? It’s nothing we’ve not seen before.”

“Zu!” I whine and throw my pillow at him. He only sniggers and goes over to his dresser to pull on a pair of sweats.

I roll my eyes at Aang, who giggles like a girl and retreats to the bathroom, making sure to close the door firmly behind him.

“That was close.”

Zuko sits on my bed. Well, he sits on me. Straddling really. Ehem.

“And you hardly helped the situation!”

“Well…”

He ground his hips down into mine, gently at first but becoming increasingly rougher.

“You can’t deny it didn’t turn you on.”

I can tell it’s turning__ him__ on.

“With Aang standing right there? No, not really.”

I try to suppress a groan at his increased ministrations, but fail and it only seems to spur him on more.

“Well. Maybe not here but in the next room? With the risk that he could come in at any moment?”

Apparently he likes the risk.

He slips a hand down my trousers when I don’t answer. I was so horny by that point that it only took a couple of minutes for me to cream myself. Without thinking, I returned the favour.

He took less time than I did – although he had already gotten off within the hour, which explains it.

He lay down between me and the wall and fell asleep within seconds. It wasn’t long before I followed his lead.


	10. Chapter 10

I was jolted awake the next morning by Jet barging into the room with a loud BANG as the door hit the wall. I was relieved to see Zuko lounging on his own bed instead of with me in mine. _That_ would have been awkward.

“You won’t believe what happened!”

He stood there, looking at us expectantly.

“Spit it out then!”

Zuko clearly can’t have been awake for very long because he’s still grouchy, and Zukos almost __always__ grouchy first thing in the morning.

“USO has declared war on the UN.” He gives Zuko a filthy glare before continuing. “Ozai’s army have already invaded and taken control of Finland. From the looks of things, he wants to secure the north first – hey! What’re you doing?!”

I’ve leapt off the bed, pulled my suitcase from under it and started to fill it with clothes from my dresser without thinking. __No, no, no! This cannot be happening!__

“I need to go home. They need me and … I can’t just leave them!”

I throw things in haphazardly, not paying any attention to what I’m doing.

_ _What if they’re dead?_ _

A small hand grips my shoulder. “Sokka, they’ll be fine as long as they know you’re safe. That’ll make them keep going. If you’re there, they’ll just give up. You don’t want them to do that, do you?”

I shake my head and freeze up. I am dimly aware of Jet leaving and someone sitting me on the edge of my bed.

“They could get out still, before the fire army invades!”

This earns me confused looks from my room-mates.

“But…I thought…” This was Aang of course; Zuko hadn’t spoken since Jet broke the news to us.

“Huh? No. No! They’re in… I’m from Norway. The far north, just above Finland.”

Understanding settle on Aangs face, and Zuko goes back to his brooding.

“Then there is still a chance…have hope, Sokka!”

Lessons were suspended that day, but the one after the presence of the war was very much there.

Martial arts and gym was using more modern weapons, and dodging faux bullets from a machine gun. They still hurt when you got hit though.

Swordplay was using our chosen weapons to deflect bullets, and the battle plans we were studying in battle strategy had been updated significantly – to within the last decade.

Alternative weaponry now involved explosives: creating them, dismantling them, hijacking guidance computers and diverting them to a neutral location. You get the idea.

The only thing not compulsory was nuclear warfare and how to survive in case of nuclear fallout, which had taken over meditation – but it didn’t matter, everyone went to it without fail.

“Lookie here, boys! Why are you still here, traitorous scum? Shouldn’t you be off enlisting to the fire army?”

People started this ever since the war broke out. Zuko stopped defending himself – he ignores everyone, Aang and I included. Watching him do this to himself…it hurts. A lot.

“Stop it! How would you like it if you were in his position?!”

“Oooh, lover boy to the rescue!”

I watch them saunter off, a slight blush staining my cheeks. Zuko left without saying a word. I returned to our room, despite knowing the iciness I would face if Zuko was there.

“Why’d you do that? Why’d you stand up for me when you don’t know anything…?”

I stay silent, watching him watch me from the sanctuary of his bed. Eventually he broke eye contact, staring petulantly at the wall.

“You wouldn’t if you knew, so just stop. You’ll only hurt yourself.” The pregnant pause cannot end fast enough.

“What? What don’t I know, Zu?”

I sit next to him on his bed and wait. “Okay, but this goes no further than us, swear it.”

I do so and watch him repeatedly clench and unclench his fists.

“My dad.” He gets out eventually. “He’s … he’s the overlord of Ozaius.” He whispered the last bit, but I still heard it.

“Why would that make me feel differently about you?”

He ignores me, and continues with fire in his voice. “I hate him! I hate what he’s doing! I wish – “

“– Zu. Zu, look at me.” He reluctantly raises his head to look me in the eye.

“I. Don’t. Care. You can’t help who you’re related to. All that matters is that you’re here and not there.”

“Why? How can you not care?!”

Aw, god. Here it comes. You’re making me say this, so don’t go all batshit on me!

“Because I love you! All of you! I love you__ because__ you’re you! Not for who you were, or what you are – for __you__.”

From the look on his face, bringing up the L word was too soon. I turn my head to hide the teas that threaten to spill over. There is silence. I contemplate making a hasty retreat, but a pale hand cups my cheek and turns me to face him.

Our lips crash together in a passionate frenzy, enjoying the accidental nicks of teeth that came with it. I’m overpowered quickly and pushed to lay on his bed. He breaks away and starts to work creating a hickey on my neck.

“Zu!” I whine, my body betraying me and making my hips buck up in desperate need of friction.

He responds by grinding downward and slipping a hand up my shirt to fiddle with my piercing. I impatiently tug off his shirt and pull him back to taste him again. God, I love how he tastes!

“Holy shit!”

That wasn’t Zuko or me, what with our lips being otherwise engaged. I tear myself away from him, only to wish I hadn’t. I lock eyes with Aang, seeing the confusion written clearly all over his face. I open my mouth to say something, but he’s already gone.

The strained silence in the room stretched on and on…

I think of the conversation we had a couple of days ago. “Please tell me that didn’t turn you on.” He scowls. I return to my own bed and read while he sleeps.

A small chink of light floods into the room from the hallway outside. I glance at an alarm clock. 1AM. the light shrinks to nothing, and the only light left emanates from the lamp above my head. Bed springs creak slightly and everything is silent.

“I’m sorry … Sokka, I didn’t mean to go off like that, I swear!” He pauses, and I strain to listen for more – if there is any. “I don’t know why…I don’t know what came over me!”

He’s upset. Crap, I didn’t mean to do that to him.

“It’s okay, Aang. Just…just don’t tell anyone, ‘kay?”


	11. Chapter 11

_December_

_ _Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia and Syria have fallen. Ozai is making slow progress in Turkey, but is gaining ground quickly in Belarus and the Ukraine. The Scandinavian front is in deadlock; those Suede’s and Norwegians are putting up one hell of a fight from what I hear…_ _

My heart swelled with pride at that, imagining my father leading attacks on the fire army and my sister mothering the wounded soldiers to death. Well, not to death – insanity maybe.

I left the room, suddenly loving the radio for bringing good news. I snuck up on a figure in a chair with its back to me in the library and wrapped my arms around his neck.

“It’s better than expected. It seems like people have had the chance to organise themselves into some form of resistance.” I lean down and nibble the lobe of his ear.

“This is a library. You’re supposed to be quiet. But yes, that is good news.” I move down to biting his neck, causing him to take a shuddering breath before continuing.

“If you’re in __that __kind of mood, we should go back… kick Aang out…” He trailed off as my hands trailed determinedly down his chest and stomach, making no attempt to hide their destination. He jumped up abruptly, grabbing my hand and pulling me behind him to our room.

“…And as for those of you who are unable or unwilling to go home due to this blasted war, you are welcome to stay here. It may not sound very appealing to you, but at least it is safe.”

The head is rarely ever seen outside his office, and the main hall is deadly silence as the enormity of the situation finally sinks in. It has been barely two months since war was declared, but doesn’t affect our lives – much.

“Stay with me, please?” I decided almost instantly that I would stay here instead of going back. Aang was right; it would be better for my family if I stayed out of the warzone. I stare at him from my seat opposite him at the dinner table. I don’t give him a chance to reply. “Zu, I…I’m scared. If you go…you won’t come back, I know it!”

His evil father would probably lock him up so he couldn’t come back. Even worse, he could send him to the front to fight in one of the penal battalions…one hears stories…

“Ozai’s been too preoccupied with the war to remember his oldest is halfway around the world. He hasn’t bothered to send a plane ticket, and I can’t get back without one. Even if I did have one, I wouldn’t leave you. Rip it up straight away.”

“Okay guys, its official!”

Zuko and I break apart reluctantly. Aang seemed pretty pleased with himself and neither of us particularly wanted to burst his bubble, so I take the cautious approach.

“What is?”

“You’re coming to stay with me! When I told the monks you had nowhere to go, they insisted!” Seeing our unchanged expressions, his face fell. “Unless you’d rather stay here – “

“– No! It’s just…why didn’t you tell us what you were planning?”

Crap. There goes a lot of alone time – if you get my drift – with Zuko. Can’t do that sort of thing with monks around…that is just so wrong.

While we were at the Asian-y monastery, the monks were seemingly oblivious to what was going on in the world around them – to be honest; it wasn’t hard to see why.

But one night – during my midnight wanderings – I saw them training in the courtyard with thick wooden staffs. When I told Zuko, he didn’t believe me. Said something about them all being pacifists.

When we went back to school, our keen eyes picked up on the well hidden defences and weaponry that had appeared along the perimeter.

Jet never came back.


	12. Chapter 12

_January_

_ _Turkey and Sweden have surrendered to the fire nation. Belarus as well as most of the Ukraine has been lost. The Norwegians and remaining Ukrainians are putting up a fight, but it is only a matter of time before they, too, succumb…_ _

_ _February_ _

_ _Defiant to the end, the valiant Norwegian forces have been overrun, proving discouraging for the rest of Europe as the fire army cut a swathe out of it…_ _

They’re still alive, they have to be!

_ _March_ _

_ _Greece and Poland have flown the white flag. Ozais grip on Europe is strong, and at this rate we will all be occupied before the year is out…_ _

_ _April_ _

_ _Almost all of Eastern Europe has fallen. Resistance to Ozais forces is almost non-existent._ _

“They’re coming! Positions everyone!” The monks left their monastery in favour of helping us. “Hold them off as long as you can,” the head is actually quite good at taking charge, he’s become a commander of sorts, “and whatever you do, do__ not__ let them take you alive!”


	13. Chapter 13

May

Ozais progress is steady, save for a pocket of resistance encircling the famed battle high. They’ve been holding off the depleted fire army for almost a month now, without losing either ground or men. These kids have been training their whole lives, so I very much doubt they’ll be beaten any time soon…

“Hold fire!”

“Everyone down!” Clumps of dirt fly into the air as the enemy batteries fire up. What they don’t know is that their shells fall short of us by a mere dozen or so yards.

“Return fire! Return fire!”

Zuko, Aang and I make up a crew manning one of the big guns.

Zuko and I haul one of the heavy shells into the chamber, while Aang locks it and fires. “Fire in the hole!”

We have temporarily lost our hearing, the guns are so loud, but we see Aangs mouth moving and manage to jump out of the way to avoid being hit by the recoil.

Trust me, you don’t want to get hit by it: someone from the gun next to ours got knocked out for a week, and nearly lost their leg.

We carry on like this for the rest of our 48 hour shift until we are relieved by a crew of Aangs monks. It seems that they condone violence as long as it is in self-defence. How they managed to twist active fighting into self-defence, I have no idea.

We’re taken back to the school on a truck, where we sleep, wash and sleep some more.

We were in deadlock: nobody was going anywhere.

XOX

“Gentlemen, we are in need of a little intelligence concerning enemy lines. Your job is to gather a little information and report back. Mission commences at zero hundred hours.”

We catch a Jeep back to the school, thankful to have extra rest time. Aang crashes out instantly –n something which I now envy – but Zuko tosses and turns. I creep over to him and curl against him. “It’ll be okay, you’ll see.” He doesn’t say anything, just kisses me on the forehead and pulls me closer.

At midnight, we spread out along the trench and crawl on out bellies as silently as we can across to the enemy front lines. It’s so dark, I can barely see anything. I make a mental note of what I can see – badly reinforced trenches with many rotting corpses – and head back to our own lines.

That was the day my heart broke.

Zuko never came back from reconnaissance. It felt … empty.

It was almost as if part of me had died with him. Of course, they rushed to insist that he was only missing. But I’m not stupid, I know that means they never usually find the remains.

That first week I cried myself to sleep every night. But then I came to realize that crying wouldn’t change anything – Zuko was still gone. The only thing I could do was avenge him.


	14. Chapter 14

I now lifted the shells into the big guns by myself. It reminded me constantly of him, but I found that that helped. Muscles sprung up in places where there previously had been none, and the one that already existed grew more defined.

This new body couldn’t bend like the old one could.

I got hit by a piece of shrapnel, only fuelling my anger even more. I spent two days in the overrun infirmary, and then went back to the front. They said that it would scar and I was lucky to still have the use of my eye. Aang joked that I looked like a pirate with the line of soon-to-be scar tissue across my left eye.

The fact that it was on the left side only served as a physical reminder.

-XOX-

“Where are you going?”

Aang froze mid-step, confirming my suspicions that he was keeping something from me.

“Meeting with the commander.” He reluctantly stated.

“Excellent. Wait for me.”

I pulled on my combat boots and gestured for him to lead the way. They thought it was too soon to give me specialized missions, but I would prove them wrong.

-XOX-

“Gentlemen, I’m not going to lie to you. Our situation here is desperate, within a month we will have no food. Within two our ammunition will be gone. We have made contact with resistance fighters on the other side of the blockade. If we can reach them, they will join forces with us and together we can tip the balance of this war. The only problem is getting to them.”

I pick up a pen, knowing the time to speak up was now. I leant over the map on the table and drew a line from the front line to where the rebel soldiers were amassing.

“You need someone to break the lines, right? I’ll do it.”

I knew that was what the commander was getting at, so his lack of protest didn’t surprise me.

“Sokka! That’s a suicide mission!” Aang yelled.

That didn’t much surprise me either.

“You know I can do this. I have to do it for him.”

Zukos name had become almost taboo. To the former students he reminded them that anyone could get taken or killed, no matter how good they were.

The commander nodded at my decision.

“You have three days to prepare yourself. Take any weapons you need. We won’t let you go alone; there will be an elite team to hold the channel you create open for the rebels to make it through.”

-XOX-

Aang volunteered to be in the support team, and I understood why. He had already lost one friend, and wanted to try his hardest to keep the other in one piece.

The night before the mission, I took out my piercing with unshaking hands, and left it inside the top drawer of Zukos chest of drawers. That time was past. The revenge begins here.


	15. Chapter 15

The day of mission tidal wave arrived and – along with the support team - I was in the silent front line trench, psyching myself up.

“Don’t you want to take anything else with you?” Aang piped up, worried.

“No, this body can no longer effectively with a sabre. It can’t bend like it used to, it’s too muscular.”

That wasn’t what he meant but I knew my candid comments would distract him. He stared at me, comparing my appearance to the pre-war one. Finally, he nodded. I looked at my watch; nearly time.

I addressed my team. “Ten minutes after I go in, follow. Space yourselves out, but make sure someone is close enough to help if need be. If a week passes and I haven’t returned: go back. And whatever you do, don’t get killed.

I stood up, straightening to my full height. I reached behind me, pulling the katanas from where they were sheathed on my back. I had a few daggers on me, but nothing else. I trusted in Zuko.

“Payback time.”

I mutter to myself, seconds before climbing out of our trench and sneaking in a half crouch across to enemy lines.

These soldiers took Zuko from me. They killed the single thing on this world that I loved in its entirety. And I will make them pay.

-XOX-

The soldiers were weak and sick. Their resistance was minimal for the first ten miles or so I travelled, letting themselves be tied up. After that things got more difficult. Their attacks got increasingly more ferocious the further I got into their territory.

Fighting against their projectiles with only twin katanas was tiring, and stretching my ability to its limits. It made me glad that I took the time beforehand to test my limitations.

My anger at the soldiers alone is what kept me alive throughout the onslaught, long past the point where my body had grown tired.

I could tell I was nearing my destination when the faint sound of the big guns could be heard in the distance. Western front, here I come.

The Franco front line was better supplied and equipped than any area I had previously had to fight my way through. It was utter carnage.

-XOX-

I strode out into the middle of no man’s land, almost completely drenched in blood. They still had not paid for what they did.

“Generals! I come from battle high!”

I was left to wait there while the army mobilized the resistance forces. Some of the platoons were designated to break off from the original passage, and intended to surround the Franco front. Or so I was told.

The sheer numbers of soldiers I was taking back with me was mind-blowing. Most were refugees who wanted to liberate their country, but many were also trained soldiers from the remaining free countries of Europe. Not to mention the American troops.

The arrival of these troops at battle high marked the turning point in the war.


	16. Chapter 16

The captured soldiers gave up information freely, which we used to help mount our attacks.

After succeeding such a risqué mission, I was ordered to liberate the prisoner of war camps, killing the guards and waiting until the main army had pushed the fire army enough that the trucks could get in to take the survivors back to battle high. The entire building and most of the grounds had been converted into a gargantuan war hospital.

It was temporary, until the war was over, but we still had to put all unneeded equipment and personal belongings in the loft. Aang and I kept our stuff together, along with Zukos’, so it would be easier to find when we went back. It would be strange, coming back as students once again. Just the two of us.

Liberating the camps with Aang by my side was a small comfort, but we both feared finding Zuko, only to have him die on us all over again. The state of the inmates…we saved as many as we could before the trucks arrived, but disease was rife and malnutrition common. Those that survived were...broken, hollow.

These sights just made me hate Ozai even ore.

I took to killing the guards in the most creatively brutal fashion. Aang had long since stopped protesting and admitted to agreeing with what I did. He couldn’t bring himself to do it, though. Countless fire army soldiers died by my Katanas in the name of retribution.

-XOX-

We were close to winning the war when it happened.

Aang and I were in the middle of a Ukrainian P.O.W. camp.

We took it in turns to search what we had dubbed the ‘torture cells’, but according to our schematics were isolation units. It was Aangs’ turn, but when I was halfway through evacuating the normal barracks into the yard to wait for the trucks, he came sprinting out at full speed.

“Sokka! You__ have__ to see this!” He impatiently tugged me behind him back into the building.

It was confusing. The torture cells were a scarring, grim experience – nothing to inspire the joy Aang currently bore.

He led the way past open doors – cells that had been checked and presumably held no survivors. He pushed me into one, hovering uncertainly in the doorway.

I glance around, trying to figure out what I’m supposed to be looking for. I finally turn my attention to the occupant chained to the wall opposite me.

I take a shuddering gasp – his hair is shaved off, like all other inmates, but it drew attention the scar over his left eye.

He lifts his head at the sound, and his defiant glare melted quickly away.

I’m glad they haven’t managed to break him.

His gaze briefly flickers over Aang, before settling disbelieving on me.

I vaguely hear Aang leave to continue the evacuation, but don’t dare look away from the golden eyes that I have longed to see so much.

“Zu?”

His eyes widen at this, and widen even further – if possible – as I gently cup his face in my hand. He let his eyes slide shut and pressed eagerly into my touch.

“I love you, Zu. I thought I’d lost you.”

I hug him gently, desperate not to hurt him in any way, but he pushes against me, wanting more contact, wanting to make sure I’m real.

“I’m not that easy to get rid of.”

His voice is cracked and breaks, and I don’t want to think about why it’s like that. I step back and pull a single katana from its sheath on my back.

“Hey, those are mine.” He chuckles weakly.

I raise it and cut clean through the ropes holding him up. I catch him as he falls and unravel the rope from his chafed wrists. I pick him up bridal style, aware that he is too weak to walk and steadfastly ignore his protests.

He gives in pretty quickly, clutching the front of my bloodied shirt. Zuko always was physical…but this is different. He’s making sure that I’m real.

The glare of the sun is too much for Zuko, who buries his face against me to protect my eyes. Aang gives us a worried glance and rushes over.

“C’mon. We’re going.”


	17. Chapter 17

“Private!”

The man stands to attention pretty sharpish at the bark of my command.

“Sir!”

“We need use of this vehicle. You are relieved.”

Aang climbs into the cabin whilst I put Zuko down in the covered bed of the truck. I stand to leave, but Zuko grabs onto my ankle.

“Sokka, no, please don’t go. I’m afraid…that I’ll wake up and find this was only a dream.”

I sit back down and lift him so that his upper body is resting on my lap. He automatically tries to move closer. I kiss him gently on the forehead, “Don’t worry, I’m here.”

-XOX-

“What is the meaning of this? You do not have authorisation to leave!”

The French general in charge of our support team is being less than helpful in our rescue of Zuko. He’s actually flat-out refusing to let us leave, even though Aang and I are his superiors.

“I’m not asking, general.”

I snarl and lean further into the front cabin through the window that separates it from the bed of the truck in a threatening manner. Zuko is leaning against the canvas wall, happy so long as he can at least see me. The old Zuko would have been blatantly staring at my arse, but I don’t know if he’s…the same…in that sense.

“I will have the two of you court marshalled for desertion!

“Go ahead; we’re not __in__ the army.”

The general just makes an outraged spluttering noise as Aang drives off, giving him a salute as he does so. I have no idea how that boy learnt to drive.

“Your arse has gotten even sexier than the last time I saw it.”

I grin, noticing Aangs grip on the steering wheel tighten. He glances at me briefly before focusing on the road again.

Zuko can’t have changed much if he’s still staring at me indecently. I close the window separating us from Aang and give him an exasperated look.

“What? I haven’t been touched by you for three months!”

“And what do you want me to do about it?” My voice is needy – I’ve felt these long months as much as he has.

He gives me a look, and although he is barely strong enough to keep himself upright, I can feel my resolve give. I sigh.

“Fine, but no sex until you’re strong enough.”

“Sounds fair to me.”

He groaned as I engulfed him, bringing shaky hands up to tangle in my hair.

-XOX-

I slide open the window between the front and back, noticing Aangs fierce blush. Surely he wasn’t that loud…?

“Hey, Aang, it would probably help if I told you where to go, right? We’re not going back to the school. My sister is a far better healer than your monks are, no offence or anything. So could you take us to Tallinn, Estonia? Then a ferry to Finland and after that north to the Norwegian border. I’ll tell you the finer points of reaching my place when we get there.”

“Do you think he’ll last that long?” He chews his lip, glancing at me in the rear-view.

“Yeah, Zukos a fighter, he has something to live for.”

I retract my head from the cabin, but an idea strikes me, and I quickly stick it back through.

“Oh, and Aang?”

“Yes Sokka?”

The blush hasn’t faded at all, and he’s rather resolutely focusing on the road ahead.

“I apologise on Zukos behalf for the noise he made.”

I retract my head to see Zuko frowning at me

“You’re a bad boy.” He mutters, trying to stifle a yawn.

I sit next to him and hold him as sleep slowly takes over the both of us.

-XOX-

The rest of the journey was uneventful; Zuko got a little stronger from the small amount we were feeding him – too much would have made him sick or burst his stomach.

He tried his hardest to touch me, or get me to touch him in a way wholly inappropriate considering Aang was mere feet away in the drivers’ cabin. Despite his best efforts, I refused anything that wasn’t innocent, except for that first time.

He couldn’t sleep unless I was holding him, and he couldn’t be left alone in the bed of the truck either. He no longer needed to be touching me very few minutes, but I still had to be visible to him or close by. He couldn’t go the whole day without needing to touch me, make sure I was there and it wasn’t just a figment of his imagination.


	18. Chapter 18

The village was much the same as I remember it. There were a few people on the streets, but not many as winter was setting in fast judging by the way peoples breaths fogged in the air as we passed. I had forgotten how cold it was here.

We pull up outside the house, and I help Zuko out the back, letting him lean heavily on me. Aang sprinted round to support Zukos other arm to take some of his weight, though we both know he weighs little. Probably just an automatic reaction or something. His baggy prison clothes disguised his unnaturally thin frame well.

We made our awkward way up the path, taking care not to slip on any hidden ice. We had barely gotten halfway down it when the front door opened and a familiar voice could be heard.

“No, Mrs Brown, you really must be more careful. Remember to make sure…” Katara trailed off as she stepped out of the door after her patient, and saw us there.

“Sokka!” she screeched, before hurtling towards us.

I let Aang take Zukos weight, but he refused to let go of me completely – probably because my sister is terrifying at the best of times. Katara smothered me in a bear hug, knocking the air from my lungs.

“Oh, Sokka! You’re alive! You’re okay! When we didn’t hear from you, we thought…”

Attracted by the noise, my dad wandered out of the house to see what was going on. He gave me a pitying look, knowing what my sister was like. She did this __every__ time I came back. I noticed his eyes stray to where my hand was joined with Zukos, but I don’t care – I __want__ him to know.

“Hey, Dad.”

-XOX-

My dad somehow managed to put together the extent of my relationship with Zuko pretty fast – within the first hour to be exact. Or at least, I think he did. Zuko was unnaturally nervous when my sister tried to examine him, and it took quite a bit of calming from me to get him to lay flat on his back.

Even then he only did so with wild eyes, one hand interlocked with mine, and the other uncomfortably clutching the material of my trousers inches from my crotch. It was nothing sexual, just pure panic on his part.

I think dad must have noticed the way I whispered soothing words to him and wasn’t too bothered that his hands were practically __on__ my crotch, and drawn his own conclusions.

He didn’t say anything, not until a couple of months later, he just watched and listened, making sure that it was the right conclusion he had drawn.

I honestly thought the house was empty when I finally caved to Zukos pleas to let him fuck me. After months of celibacy, I’ll admit I was rather a lot louder than I usually would have been.

Zuko had whined almost incessantly about the loss of my piercing and made me go to Katara the next day to get it re-done. Her anaesthetic skills were still pretty shit. He had whispered huskily in my ear as we left that he would make it up to me. I somehow managed to get excited at that, even though it felt as though I had just had my boob removed.

-XOX-

Zuko still couldn’t be in a separate room to me when my dad finally confronted us, and it did __not__ go how I expected it to. I was expecting anger and disgust, disappointment at the very least. But my father managed to surprise me again, despite his obvious discomfort at the ‘man-talk’ he had to give. But that’s just generic really.

“I have seen you two boys together, and I believe you will make each other happy.”

Zuko and I just ogled at him, still not believing we had been that obvious. Oh, god, Katara will kill me if she finds out!

“I take it you have nowhere to go, Zuko? I would be honoured if you came to live with us.”

Zuko just nodded, dumbstruck, and my father left the room with a smile. I sagged against Zuko in relief.

“God, that was a lot easier than I expected it to be.”

-XOX-

“Oh god! Zuko, faster!” I moaned into his neck. He had regained a lot of strength and I no longer felt worried to ask him to do that.

He paused in his thrusts to hook my legs over his shoulders, before resuming his almost brutal pace. He reached between us and stroked me in time to his thrusts. I could feel myself getting close, just a little more…

I saw a flash of blue, followed by a shrieked “Oh my god!” and the slamming of my bedroom door.

I didn’t care though; I was close, so close. The familiar tingle of pleasure roared through me as I tensed and cried out. Zuko joined me in bliss not long after.

-XOX-

We slept through until the next morning, and I left Zuko to take a shower while I headed down for breakfast. Dad was at work, and Katara and Aang sitting at the dining room table eating some form of cereal. I take a seat next to Aang and reach over for the cereal.

“How many times have I told you to knock before coming into my room?” Kataras face turns bright red in embarrassment. Busted!

“I always knew you were gay Sokka, I just never thought I’d walk in on…that.” I grin at her.

“Don’t worry; we’ve had Aang walk in on us plenty of times before, just nothing that serious. Mostly hand or blow jobs-“

“Ew! Sokka! Too much information!” she pinched the bridge of her nose in exasperation before continuing. “Does dad know?”

“Yeah. Zuko’s going to live with us.” I just __know__ I have a dreamy look on my face. Katara doesn’t even bother to suppress a shudder.

“Right. Bedroom permanently off limits. Got it. He knows I’ll kill him if he hurts you, right?”

At that moment, Zuko walks in, completely oblivious to what we had just been discussing. Katara shoots daggers at him.

“What’s that look for?”

He frowns at her, before looking at me questioningly. “She knows.”

“You mean we don’t have to hide it any more? Sweet!”

I see the look come over his face too late. Faster than I thought it possible, he is behind me and runs a warm hand up my bare abdomen and chest. He stops to play almost absent-mindedly with my nipple ring along the way. The heat from his fingers is so teasingly tantalising, my eyes begin to roll back in my head.

“Zuko, stop it!” I whine, begging even though there were other people there.

Screw it if they didn’t think it was manly. He leans down and growls into my ear, just loud enough for the others to hear.

“Bedroom. Now.”

He presses his hips against my back once he straightens. His obvious arousal sends sparks shooting to my groin. I shoot up, knocking over the chair in my haste to tug him behind me to my room.


	19. Chapter 19

It felt weird going back to battle high as students once again.

The muscles I had gained during the war had melted away – with practice – I was once again as flexible as I used to be. Zuko had fully regained his former strength and no longer had serious separation issues. He just chose to stay close by.

After our successes in the war, there was a vast influx of eleven year olds joining the school, so much so that another building had sprung up, solely containing more dorms. These kids knew us all by reputation; it was actually a little creepy.

“…Do you see the one with tattoos? He was a part of operation tidal wave…risked everything to help his friends in Ukraine…”

“…That one with the burn…he would not surrender to the fire army…defiant even in the prisoner of war camps…never gave up…”

“…The one with the pirate scar…took the primary role in operation tidal wave…risked everything to save the one he loved…almost destroyed the western front single-handedly…”

Everywhere we went for the next few weeks we were followed by that, or something similar. The younger kids always watched over our lessons if they had the chance to, and while the others would show off for attention, Zuko, Aang and I couldn’t shake the feeling that we were zoo animals on show.

We got ridiculous amounts of letters inviting us to medal presentation ceremonies in most of the anti-Ozai countries. We accepted them of course, but used the excuse that we were too busy training to go to the ceremonies in person.

-XOX-

Dad – upon hearing of Aangs living arrangement – asked him to live with us too. He accepted, completely ecstatic, which Zuko claimed to be because he had a thing for my sister. I really, really did not need to know that. Neither do I enjoy imagining them together…I mean, come on! My sister! And my best friend! EW!!

-XOX-

After everything we had been through, we couldn’t be apart for long, it just didn’t feel right. The same thing that had ripped our lives apart and had changed us almost beyond belief was the same thing that had kept us together, and made us appreciate what we had before taken for granted.

I can’t imagine a life without Zuko or Aang in, but I’m glad that I don’t have to. It’s not going to be easy from now on, I know that, but I also know from our experiences that together, we can face anything.

Hell, most of our memories are centred around battle high; we’ll probably end up as teachers here or something. We can’t leave this place behind; it simply holds too much meaning for us to be able to do that. Besides, we have plans for the place! Expansion and a greater intake of students eager to train in the art of fighting. We’ll teach them that it is something to be revered, not flaunted. Maybe then we can prevent something like this from happening again.


End file.
